Argonne plays foundational role in development of COVID-19 vaccines LEMONT, Ill. (Business Wire) As the COVID-19 vaccines roll out across the country, the record-setting pace of the vaccine development may seem to many like an overnight success story. In reality, it was built on more than a decade of research into other viruses at the U.S Department of Energy s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory’s Advanced Photon Source (APS).
Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory (Photo: Business Wire)
Five of the vaccines, including those developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, contain genetic mutations that increase effectiveness in fighting the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This pivotal discovery is based upon work dating back more than 10 years using the resources of the APS, a DOE Office of Science User Facility at Argonne.